NEC wins sustainability and recycling award

The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) picked up the award for ‘Best Waste and Recycling Scheme’ in the Business category at Birmingham City Council’s first Sustainability and Recycling Awards, held at the city’s Council House on Friday 18 July.
The win comes just weeks after the NEC was “highly commended” at the National Recycling Awards in London and adds to an impressive list of awards recognising the NEC’s on-going commitment to responsibly managing the environmental impact of its operations, which includes the event industry’s AEO Excellence Award for Sustainability in 2010 and 2013.

The NEC impressed judges by outlining a number of successful projects introduced across the business to minimise waste and increase recycling.
In 2012, the venue reached its “Zero Waste to Landfill’ target two years ahead of schedule by developing a Waste Pre-Treatment Centre, which was certificated by the demanding and well respected ISO 14001 standard in 2013. Planning permission has also been granted to build a £100 million on-site Biomass plant that is set to make the NEC venue energy self-sufficient.
Additionally, the NEC involves and supports local communities by donating materials from its operations for re-use and recently donated 120 tonnes of top soil to a local farm to create allotments for people with learning disabilities.
“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do,” said NEC Operations Director Brian Pell. “We work hard to monitor the environmental impact of our operations both at events and in our offices, and so we’re extremely proud that our efforts have not only been successful in minimising negative impacts, but have also been recognised – especially by our local council.”
Pictured left to right: Paul Wheeler, Lee White, Matthew Brabazon, Steve Cartmell, Paul Thrupp